UP FRONT
Lingering Doubts Of Fairness
Increase Support For Pollards
ALLISON KAPLAN
Special to The Jewish News
onathan Pollard's
family and supporters
are meeting with in-
creasing success in bringing
their case to the American
Jewish community, as a fed-
eral court reviews his move
for a withdrawal of the guil-
ty plea that landed him in
jail for life.
Winning recognition from
mainstream Jewish groups
has been a long-sought goal
for supporters of Pollard, a
United States naval intel-
ligence analyst who was
convicted of spying for
Israel.
But despite these victories,
there appear to be growing
tensions within the Pollard
clan.
Pollard and his wife, Anne,
have been estranged for the
four months since she was
released on probation, after
serving 2Y2years in prison,
according to Dr. Morris
Pollard, Jonathan's father.
He said Anne Pollard had
not visited her husband in
prison nor written him since
her release, though she has
had permission to do both.
"It's disturbing to Jonathan
j
and disturbing to us," he
said.
Anne Pollard is a patient
at Mount Sinai Hospital in
New York. She was ad-
mitted after an attack of
pancreatitis, which is
related to the long-term
digestive disorders that
plagued her in prison.
As a result of the attack,
she postponed a trip to
Israel, which had been set
for Tuesday.
Morris Pollard credited the
recent flurry of activity in
the Jewish organizational
world over the Pollard affair
to the involvement of high-
profile attorney Alan Der-
showitz in his son's case.
Dershowitz, a professor at
Harvard Law School, has
taken on the case pro bono
and is among the team of
lawyers that petitioned a
federal district court on
March 12 to allow Jonathan
Pollard to withdraw his
original guilty plea.
The U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia is
currently considering the
motion, along with opposing
arguments from the U.S.
government. If the court
made the unusual move of
granting the petition,
Pollard would be entitled to
a fair trial on the espionage
charges.
Dershowitz contends
Pollard's life sentence for
spying is grossly at odds
with the "unbroken history
of lenient sentences for
defendants who have plead-
ed guilty to spying for
American allies."
He believes a key reason
Pollard received unfair
treatment was his Jew-
ishness and the fact that he
was spying for Israel.
In a written summary,
Dershowitz pointed out that
the government suggested in
its sentencing memorandum
that a lenient sentence
would encourage others to
engage in similar activities.
And in public statements,
the prosecution suggested
"that American Jews need
greater deterrence against
spying for Israel than do
other Americans in relation
to other countries," Der-
showitz claimed.
It is on this basis of
perceived anti-Semitism and
lack of fairness that Der-
showitz is seeking support
from the Jewish community.
In the wake of Pollard's
conviction in 1985, much of
Pollard's parents, Molly and Morris, and sister Carol have led the efforts
in his behalf.
the organized Jewish com-
munity avoided involvement
in the case. For the most
part, American Jews did not
want to be in the position of
supporting someone con-
victed of one of the most se-
rious crimes on the law
books.
Lately, that reticence has
been slowly disappearing.
Last month, after its com-
mission on law and social ac-
tion heard a presentation by
Dershowitz, the American
Jewish Congress cautiously
advocated a "full, open and
fair" re-examination of
Pollard's sentence.
A resolution containing
even stronger language was
passed July 4 at a conven-
tion of B'nai B'rith' District
4 in Long Beach, Calif. The
district covers the U.S. west
coast.
The resolution declared
unequivocally that Pollard's
treatment "was unduly har-
sh and excessive in that his
sentence was unprecedented
and far more severe than
those historically meted out
to most persons convicted of
espionage."
Continued on Page 10
to correspond directly with
them.
For information on spon-
soring an Ethiopian student
in Israel, contact NACOEJ,
165 E. 56 St., New York,
N.Y. 10022, or call (212) 752-
6340.
report in The Jewish Press.
If Frank repents, excom-
munication (cherem in Heb-
rew) may be lifted, Rabbi
Friedman said.
ROUND UP
Students Show
Contradictions
Jerusalem — A survey of
high school students in
Jerusalem shows Israeli
youth are willing to make
territorial compromises to
achieve peace with the Pa-
lestinians, but at the same
time hold negative attitudes
toward Arabs.
In the survey, conducted
this school year under the
auspices of the Hebrew Uni-
versity of Jerusalem, 60 per-
cent of the eighth-12th
graders interviewed said
that refusing to return ter-
ritories would lead to war;
that the intifada is a nation-
alist uprising, not just riots
or acts of terror; and that
Egypt should mediate in the
political dispute.
Yet 80 percent of the same
respondents said they saw
nothing wrong with making
Arabs leave Israel; 72 per-
cent said Arab hatred of the
Jews has nothing to do with
Jewish behavior; and 79 per-
cent said one cannot rely on
the loyalty of Israeli Arabs
since the start of the in-
tifada.
Program Helps
Ethiopian Pupils
Jerusalem — Adi Yaakov
is a student nurse at Bikur
Cholim Hospital in
Jerusalem. Belaynish
Zevadia studies at the Heb-
rew University of
Jerusalem, majoring in
international affairs and
African studies. What do
they and almost 200 other
Israeli students and
graduates have in common?
They are all Ethiopian
Jewish students in Israel
who have been "adopted" by
American sponsors. Their
education has been made
possible through monthly
stipends forwarded to the
students through the Adopt-
a-Student program of the
North American Conference
on Ethiopian Jewry
(NACOEJ).
"Many of our students are
alone in Israel," said
An Ethiopian Jewish student
studies electro-optics.
NACOEJ Director Barbara
Gordon. "Their parents can't
help them because most are
either trapped in Ethiopia or
have died while attempting
to escape to Israel. As one
student in Beersheva told
me, 'If I buy my books, I
cannot buy my dinner.' "
One-hundred percent of
the contribution is forward-
ed to students. Sponsors
commit themselves to
stipends of $75 a month for
single students and $150 for
married students during a
one-year period. They
receive photos of the
students and are encouraged
Barney Frank
Excommunicated
New York — The Beth Din
Zedek (High Rabbinic Eccle-
siastical Court) of New York
late last month formally ex-
communicated Congressman
Barney Frank, D-Mass., who
in 1989 was accused of in-
discretions with a male pros-
titute.
Joseph Friedman,
presiding rabbi of the Beth
Din Zedek, said Frank was
excommunicated for
"desecrating the name of
God and the Jewish people,
for bringing dishonor and
disgrace upon the high office
of congressman, and for
promoting and encouraging
the moral corruption of
society," according to a
New Kashrut
Hotline Opens
Merkaz, a laymen's
association that oversees
questions of kashrut,
together with the Council of
Orthodox Rabbis, has estab-
lished a hotline to let
Detroit-area residents know
all the latest kosher news.
The hotline was created
"to let the community know
the newest kashrut devel-
opments as quickly as possi-
ble," according to Rabbi
Mordechai Wolmark, head of
kashrut supervision for the
Va'ad.
Callers will hear a record-
ed message, and may leave a
message if they have a ques-
tion. The number is 968-
3057.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5